15

Additional disclaimer: Parts of this chapter are taken from "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" by Robert Browning.

A/N: Just want to give a big thanks to my Beta, Angel Mischa *kiss kiss*.

Draco was lying on the bed, moaning. The inn keeper's wife had made them a huge meal of sauerkraut, and even though Hermione warned him that he had told himself not to eat it, he went ahead and did it anyway.

"How can one person puke so much?" Hermione asked, covering him up with another blanket. No sooner had she done it, then he threw the blankets off and retched all over the floor.

"Maybe next time you'll listen to yourself!" she said.

"When have I ever..." he started to say when suddenly the door was blasted open and everything went dark.

***

When Draco came to, he was locked in some sort of dungeon room and a very tall, hooded man was standing in the corner looking intently at him.

"Who... who are you?" Draco managed to ask.

"I am Sebastain Naught and you, my new friend, are going to help me."

"Help you?" Draco laughed. "Help you do what?"

Sebastain walked slowly towards him, taking his hood from his head. "You are going to help me kill the children of this town."

"What?" Draco asked in disbelief. "Kill the children?" He laughed like this was the most absurd thing he'd ever heard. "Sorry to tell you this, but the only person I plan on killing is YOU... you insane fuck! Now, untie me right now and give me back my wand and my wife!" He started to shake the chair violently and actually succeeded in getting one of his arms loose. "If you so much as lay one fucking finger on her, I'll not only kill you, but I'll do it slowly!" He managed to get his other arm free before the pain hit him.

Sebastian was not expecting this man to fight so violently, and it was a few seconds before he came to his senses. "Crucio!" he shouted, aiming his wand at his prisoner.

Draco, his feet still tied to the chair, screamed as the chair toppled over and he hit the ground. The pain slowly dissipated. As he laid there, his cheek pressed to the cold floor, his chest heaving for air, he realized he was in deep shit.

"Now, Mr. Malfoy, will you do what I ask?" Sebastian crouched down and pulled Draco's head up by his sweat-drenched hair. "Or will you allow her to die?"

Draco, every nerve in his body still on fire from the Cruciatus Curse, smiled at the wizard. "How do I know you haven't already killed her?"

"You don't."

"And I'm just suppose to take your word for it, am I?" Draco said sarcastically. Sebastian's boot connected with the side of his head, and he saw stars. "Beating the shit out of me is definitely not the way to win my trust!" His hand came up from under him, and he wiped the blood from his forehead. He flipped the chair over with his bound legs and sat up. His feet were asleep and every muscle in his body hurt. He smirked up at the black-haired wizard and said defiantly, "I will never kill anybody for you, ever."

Sebastian had completely underestimated this man. He thought he would simply kidnap his woman and force him to do his dirty work. "Then she will die!" he said, grabbing Draco's arm violently and forcing the chair back to its upright position.

He crossed his arms and looked at the crazy wizard. "She would never want me to kill a child just so that she could live. She would rather die. I would rather die!"

Sebastian grinned at him, "Then perhaps I can sway you another way. What if I said I would let her live, but kill the child that now rests in her womb unless you do what I say?"

Draco's jaw dropped. "But... how did you? She doesn't even know!"

"I didn't know. You just told me." His laughter rang through the bare room, echoing off the walls.

Draco's face contorted with anger, and he totally lost his mind. "Don't you fucking dare hurt my child!" He flailed and screamed like a crazy man. "I'll kill you. You twisted fucking bastard!" He got his feet free from the rope and lunged towards his kidnapper.

Sebastian's heavy fist slammed into Draco's mouth, splitting his lip and sending blood flying. Draco staggered sideways and fell against the wall. "I suggest you calm down before I have to really hurt you!"

"Why are you doing this?" Draco asked, spitting blood onto the floor. A rat ran over and licked at it. Draco's stomach threatened to heave as he watched its tiny tongue lap up the red liquid.

"Revenge, my dear boy. The people of this lovely little town took it upon themselves to set my house on fire!"

Draco tested his balance and pushed off the wall. "That's it? They burned your fucking house down, and now you want to kill their young? Must have been one hell of a house!" Draco's laughter rang through the cold room, and he suddenly felt like his old sarcastic self again. "Were the pots and pans made of gold? Did you cover yourself every night with silk sheets? Did you have hired help to wipe the shit from your ass? Or did your wife do that for you..."

Sebastian's fist came from nowhere and connected with the side of Draco's head, sending him sprawling to the ground. "How dare you speak about my wife like that!" He stood over Draco, who was dazed and bloodied, and aimed his wand into his face. "My wife was in that house when they set it on fire!" He kicked Draco in the ribs. "They didn't even care that my children were in that house! All they cared about was killing more witches!"

Sudden comprehension dawned on Draco. He pushed the wand from his face and struggled to get to his feet. Blood was pouring down his face, and he was sure he had a few broken ribs. "Are you telling me that these people burned your wife and children alive?" He struggled to take a deep breath. "And now you want to get revenge by killing their kids?"

Sebastian lowered his wand. "I still hear their screams! I can't get it out of my head. I tried to save them, but it was too late!" He cried out in anguish and crumpled to the floor. "I could see them through the window, the smoke and fire engulfing them, their clothing and hair going up in flames. Their faces twisted in pain as they were burnt to cinders!" He covered his face with his giant, rough hands and wept for his lost family.

Draco, who had never really seen a man cry before, had no idea what to do. He went to the heartbroken wizard and took a seat next to him on the cold hard floor. He said nothing, but waited patiently for the man to speak.

"I had to watch and wait for the fire to burn down; it was too hot for me to enter, although I wish I had plunged into the flames and died along with my family!" Sebastian sat up, his back against the wall. The tears streamed down his face. "I had to sift through the ashes to find them." He looked over at Draco, a hard glint in his eye. "I found the body of my five-year-old son first. He was nothing but a charred black thing, lying there on his left side with his withered black arms over his head." He sobbed as he described picking his body up, carrying it through the rubble and placing it gently in the grass.

Draco was shaking as he listened to the wretched man. How awful it must have been to witness the horrible death of his family and be too helpless to save them.

"After I put Frederick on the grass, I went back..." Sebastian, his eyes now free of tears as anger replaced sadness, stared at the wall across the room. "Not far from where my son was, I found them. My wife was lying on her side, my three-year-old daughter in her arms; their faces were pressed together..."

Here, Draco began to tear up, and try as he might to hold back the tears, they fell anyway. He could never imagine having to do what this man had done. His child wasn't even born yet, and he felt an overwhelming love for him or her, wanting to protect the baby from all harm. What if this had happened to Hermione and to his child? Would he not want revenge, the same as Sebastian did?

"I will help you, Sebastian." Draco helped the surprised man to his feet. "I will bring the children to you, but I won't kill them. This is your revenge, not mine." Draco held out his hand and demanded, "Now give me my wand and tell me where I can find Hermione."

Sebastian grinned at Draco's audacity and then laughed, "I will do no such thing! Do you take me for a fool, Mr. Malfoy?" He walked to the door, opened it, grabbed a package from the floor and tossed it to Draco. "Put this on. As soon as you have brought the children to me, I will give you what you want." He smiled as Draco glared hatefully at him. "I said put it on! Or do we have to go back to violence?"

Draco took the red and yellow coat out of the package and put it on; he put the flute up to his mouth and played a note. Immediately, every rat in the room stopped moving and stood like statues, looking at Draco.

He slowly lowered the instrument, and the rats began to scurry around the room again. He put the flute into the pocket of the colorful coat, noticing that there seemed to be something else in there already. His fingertips felt it, and he realized it was a piece of paper. Not wanting to alert Sebastian, he decided to wait until he was alone to read it.

"The town meeting is going to start soon. I need to clean you up, so they won't suspect anything." Sebastian waved his wand and the blood disappeared, but the bruises and the broken ribs remained. "I can heal those cuts on your head and your fat lip, but I'm afraid that there is nothing I can do for the other injuries. You'll have to deal with it."

Draco frowned. "Well, that's just fucking peachy! I can't even get a decent breath, and you want me to prance all over town, not just once, but twice?" Every time he moved, it felt like splinters of glass were shredding his insides. "There is nothing you can do? Some fucking wizard you are!"

Sebastian conjured a tin cup from thin air and handed it to Draco. "Drink this; it should help with the pain, at least for a little while."

It was smoking, appeared to be the color of dog shit and smelled like it might just taste that way as well. "What the bloody hell is it?" He sniffed it and his insides lurched. "I can't drink this. It smells wretched!"

"You will drink it even if I have to force it down your throat. We have no time to waste, now hurry up!"

Draco plugged his nose and gulped it down. "That was bloody awful!" he said, clutching his stomach. It might have tasted like liquid shit, but it actually dulled the pain quite a bit.

"Are you ready, Mr. Malfoy?" Sebastian asked.

"Let's get this over with," Draco said and followed Sebastian from the room, rubbing the awful taste from his tongue with the sleeve of the coat.

***

"Listen, Mayor! Something has to be done! I shall go bankrupt within the week if this pest problem isn't taken care of!"

"I agree! How can I sell my cheese when the damn rats have been in the vats and eaten holes all through it and left rat hairs everywhere? Who wants to eat hairy cheese?"

"My baby was bitten this morning! Look!" A woman held up her screaming, red-faced infant and showed everyone the rat bite on the baby's chubby arm. "It was right there in the cradle with her! Why, it probably would have eaten her alive if I hadn't gotten there in time!"

"Why that's nothing!" a portly man with a huge wart on the end of his nose shouted. "The rodents have eaten all my grain! How the hell am I suppose to plant new crops this year? My family and I are going to starve this winter, along with everyone else in this godforsaken town if you don't do something!"

The town hall erupted with angry shouts and curses, and the Mayor struggled to maintain order. "Good people of Hameln!" The Mayor stood and eventually the noise died down. "I have to admit that we're at a loss. The council and I haven't the slightest idea of what to do."

"Then we are all doomed!" the wart-man yelled.

"To think we pay these empty-headed morons to run our town!" another shouted.

"Good people, does anyone here have a solution to our problem? We are open to suggestions!" a man on the council pleaded.

Everyone stopped shouting and started to rack their brains. It was silent for about an hour before the Mayor spoke again. "Well? Has anyone come up with a way to rid ourselves of this plague?"

The room was still dead with silence, and everyone eyed each other uneasily.

The Mayor slowly sat down and put his head in his hands. "If only there was someone... someone who knew how to get rid of these damn rats! I would be willing to pay them any amount of guilders they wanted!"

There was a light tap on the door, and everyone jumped, looking around at the floor and peering into the dark corners.

"Was that a rat?" the Mayor asked, jumping to his feet and holding his heart. "Please tell me that no rodent has made its way inside!"

The tapping sound came again, louder this time, and everyone turned towards the door. The Mayor, with his brows knitted together in curiosity, shouted, "Come in!"

The door gave a loud squeak on its rusted hinges as it swung open. Draco stepped over the threshhold with an arrogant smirk plastered on his face. He gave the good towns folk a huge exaggerated bow and then skipped down the aisle towards the Council table.

Every eye in the place followed his progression. None had ever seen such a flamboyantly dressed individual before. His colorful coat swirled around his ankles as he pranced past them, grinning and winking.

He stopped at the table, bowed low to the ground and then said, "Did I hear someone say guilders?"

"And who, pray tell, are you?" the Mayor asked. "Besides a weirdo, that is."

Draco laughed lightly; after all, he was sure he did look like a weirdo of the highest degree. "Why, I am the answer to your prayers! I'm the Pied Piper."

"God has sent us a fool with a serious lack of fashion sense and a stupid name to help us with our infestation?" the Mayor and the council members laughed. "That is the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard!"

"Nevertheless," Draco said, hopping onto the table and crossing his legs. "I am here, I am qualified and I'm your only hope!" He batted his eyelashes lovingly at the Mayor.

"Qualified? What qualifications do you have?" a council member inquired.

Draco pulled out his flute and twirled it around his fingers. "It so happens, my ugly friend, that by means of a secret charm, I was able last June to free a village in Tartary from a plague of swarming gnats, and just this past month, in Asia, I rid a town of monstrous vampire bats!" Draco leaned in towards the Mayor, nose to nose, a serious look now on his face. "And for a thousand guilders, I can surely get rid of all these nasty rats."

The Mayor, very desperate to please his citizens, agreed. "A thousand? If you get rid of every last one of these pests, I'll give you fifty thousand!"

A huge grin spread slowly across Draco's face. "It's a deal then!" He pulled the Mayor's face in, he kissed him loudly on the mouth, winked at the council members and then jumped from the table. "Follow me!" he said and skipped out the door.

The entire meeting hall filed out after him and stood in the street, wondering what in the world this strange man was going to do. As they watched, Draco twirled the flute in his fingers again, threw it up into the air, caught it and put it up to his lips.

He played three notes and then paused, listening. The crowd stood still, waiting in anticipation. The sound started out low and then it grew louder and louder, and the people's eyes grew larger and larger with fear.

"What is it?" the Mayor asked.

"I'm sure I haven't the slightest idea!" someone answered.

"Look!"

Everyone turned their heads and saw, to their horror, a flood of rats pouring down the street. They tumbled out of the houses, they emerged from the forests and the fields, they all raced towards the Piper and then... they stopped. Draco's heart was beating fast, and he was moments away from screaming. There were just so many of them! They were all staring at him with their black beady eyes, their nasty worm-like tails twitching. Some of them were even up on their hind legs waiting, frozen like statues.

The citizens all backed up, tripping over one another to get away. Some fainted, some screamed, and some just stared open mouthed in awe. The rats filled the entire road from front to back, from side to side. It was a terrifying sight to behold.

Draco knew he had to do this whether he wanted to or not, Hermione's life depended on it. He took a deep breath and summoned all the courage he had. Slowly, he turned to them, smiled and then started to play a merry tune. He skipped and danced down the street, the flood of rodents following him willingly. When he reached the end of the main road, he turned and headed towards the River Weser.

The Mayor, the council and the entire town of Hameln followed. By the time they reached the banks of the river, the rats were almost entirely gone; all of them having plunged into the water like lemmings and drowned. Bloated corpses floated on the surface of the water, and as the people watched, the last of the rodents stopped treading and sunk to the bottom.

A glorious cry rose up from the crowd, someone lifted Draco up, and they all carried him back through the town, praising him and congratulating him on a job well done. They rang the bells in celebration, and some even spoke of erecting a monument in the Square in his honor!

"Go and check every nook and cranny!" the Mayor shouted happily. "Make sure that no rat has escaped!" He was all smiles and grins... until...

Draco pushed through the crowd and came to a halt in front of the Mayor. He smirked at him and thrust out his hand. He hoped with all his heart that this part of the damn story was correct and that the Mayor would refuse to pay him. If not, he was in deep shit and would have to think of some other way to get the children to the mountain. "I believe you owe me fifty thousand guilders?"

The Mayors face fell, and he suddenly looked grim. "Come now, dear Piper! That's a hefty sum to give a stranger. I was just joking! How about I give you half that?"

"What?" Draco shouted. "We agreed on fifty, and I will take no less than that! I'm not a person to be trifled with. We had a deal!" Draco glared at him. "I don't work for free!"

The Mayor and the Council now stood tall and defiant. "How about if we pay you nothing!" the Mayor said with a smile. "After all, the rats are dead and gone, they can't come back." The council members laughed, as did some of the people in the crowd. "Now, go away, you freak!"

It was Draco's turn to smile and laugh. "If you won't pay me with guilders, then I'll get my payment another way!" He pushed through the crowd, the Mayor shouting obscenities at him.

"Do your worst you cocky bastard!"

"I will," Draco said and pulled the flute out once more. "You fat, cheap, piece of shit!" he added under his breath. Draco looked around at the people, his face twisted with pretend anger. "And now, you greedy people of Hameln, it's time to pay the Piper!"

They were laughing, and some were glancing around fearfully, knowing that something bad was about to happen. They watched as the Piper closed his eyes and played three soft, sweet notes that seemed to float through the air.

Again there was a noise that started off soft and then became louder. This time, however, it wasn't the squeaking of rats they heard, but the merry laughter and clapping hands of the town's small children. They watched with utmost horror as all the tiny ones followed Draco, who was still playing his magical song, dancing and frolicking in the street.

Men and woman rushed out into the street to fetch their children as they danced by, but were thrown to the ground as if pushed by an invisible force. No one could stop the Piper and his parade.

The first thought the Mayor had was that the Piper was going to turn down the road towards the river and drown the helpless tots like he did the rats, but instead, he went another direction: towards Koppelberg Hill. "Follow them!" he shouted.

***

Hermione tried for the hundredth time to loosen the ropes that were binding her to the tree. Her hands were numb from lack of blood flow, and her shoulders were aching painfully. A twig snapped, and she jerked her head up, listening. Sebastian walked into view, his hood over his head. He came over to her and checked to see that the rope was still secure. "Untie me," Hermione pleaded. "Please. My arms are hurting and I can't breathe."

Sebastian frowned at her. "You know I can't do that."

"I won't go anywhere, I promise!"

"You can promise all you want, but I'm still not going to untie you. Anyway, your Draco should be here soon with the children."

Hermione was shocked. "You lie! Draco would never bring those children here to die!"

"Apparently, you don't know him as well as you think. He was more than willing to bring them here," Sebastian laughed.

"You must have told him you were going to kill me."

"I did, but that's not what made him agree to help me." Sebastian took down his hood. The breeze ruffled his black hair. "When I told him I was going to kill you, he said to go right ahead and do it. He seemed to think that you would rather die than to carry around the guilt of being the reason he committed murder."

Hermione was pleased. "He was right," she said with a smile. "But then how did you get him to do what you wanted?"

Sebastian's eyes twinkled in the orange glow of the setting sun, making them look sinister. "It was easy. I told him that I would kill the baby that you are now carrying if he didn't bring the children to this hill."

"What did you just say?" Hermione could feel her heart thumping in her chest, and for some reason, there were black and gold dots swimming in her vision.

"That's right! You don't know about the baby, do you?" Sebastian grinned at her. "It seems that your precious Draco likes to keep secrets from you."

Hermione was angrier than she had ever been in her life. How dare he keep something like that from her! What else wasn't he telling her?

"I've been thinking," Sebastian said, walking over to her. He put his hand under her chin and lifted her head so that he could look into her face. "You are a very beautiful woman, and very intelligent. You deserve better than him. He keeps things from you, makes you angry and sometimes sad... he is not at all what you need." He caressed her cheek, his fingers loving the feel of her soft skin.

Hermione, being who she was, couldn't keep her mouth shut. "Surely you don't think I would abandon him to be with you, do you?" she laughed in his face. "He may be an ass sometimes, but he is a thousand times better than you! YOU FUCKING CHILD MURDERER!" she spat in his face.

Sebastian stood there, her spittle sliding down his face, anger crackling in his eyes like lightning. "You just signed his death warrant," he said through clenched teeth. "After I kill him, you WILL be mine." He aimed his wand and bellowed, "Crucio!"

Draco was halfway up the hill when he heard her scream. He quit playing and listened to her painful cries echoing through the air. He started to run to where he thought the sound was coming from, but stopped when he noticed all the children staring at him like zombies. He had to get them to the top of the hill.

He had to, or that fucking insane poor excuse for a wizard was going to kill Hermione. He put the flute back up to his lips, trying to keep his hands steady- they were shaking very badly- and he began to play again. This time he walked quickly, not caring about anything but getting to the top as fast as he could.

Hermione finally fainted, her head lolled forward onto her chest, and she just hung there, tied to the tree while Sebastian laughed crazily.

He turned suddenly, hearing the faint sound of the flute and something else... something like thunder. He sprinted through the trees and stopped dead in his tracks. Something was appearing out of thin air in the same exact spot where his prisoner and her man had appeared earlier that day. The air cracked with blue and violet light as it became clearer. He tore his eyes away from the amazing sight when he saw Draco and children.

Draco paused on the edge of the clearing and swore under his breath. He had totally lost track of time and had completely forgotten about the damn clock! He needed to get Hermione to the clock before it vanished again, leaving them stranded in this hell for all eternity! He walked forward to the front of the solid clock as the children silently stayed behind in wait, as if under a spell.

He put the flute in his pocket, his fingers brushing that paper again. He took it out, opened it and read it: if you look back too much, you will sooN be headed that way. p.s. duck! Draco's head snapped up just in time to see Sebastian aim his wand and fire a spell at him. He ducked and fell sideways to the ground. The green light from the spell hit the clock just as it chimed one. Draco was blinded by a bright white light that flew from the time piece and enveloped the entire hill top. The clock chimed again.

Hermione opened her eyes. As the world came back into focus, she noticed something lying on the ground just out of her reach. It was her wand. "Accio wand!" she said happily. It flew into her hand, she then yelled, "Reducto!" at the ropes on her legs and arms. Free at last, she ran towards the clearing, arriving just in time to see Sebastian casting the Killing Curse in Draco's direction.

She ran forward and shouted, "Incendio!" Sebastian's cloak immediately caught fire, and he whirled around, trying to get the flames out. His motion fanned the flames, and he went up in an inferno, screaming in agony. Hermione thankfully was blinded by a white light and didn't see him being burned to death. She could hear the clock chiming again, and she rushed forward, calling for Draco. Halfway across the clearing, a hand grabbed her and pulled her blindly at a racing speed through the white light.

"Come on, Granger! It only has one more chime!" he said. "We're here! Quickly, feel for the door!"

Her hands slid frantically over the polished wood, trying to find the opening as the clock began to chime for the last time. "Here! I found it!" She opened the door, and they scrambled inside, plunging into the darkened interior. He quickly shut the door, and they held onto each other for dear life as the clock disappeared.

As the light cleared in the sky, the Mayor and the people of Hameln stood in complete horror at the sight before them. The children were gone! Not one of them was to be found- the clearing was completely empty, except for the crispy body of Sebastian and a huge hole in the ground where the clock had been.

"Are you all right?" Draco asked, kissing Hermione all over her face. "Did he hurt you? I heard you screaming.

"I'm fine... and so is the baby that you didn't bother to inform me about!" she snapped.

Draco stiffened in her arms. "He told you then?"

"How dare you let me walk around pregnant and not tell me! What else are you keeping from me?"

"Nothing! I swear!" Draco tried to pull her close, but she shoved him away.

"I don't believe you!"

He sighed, wondering if he should tell her about the whole having to save her in the future thing. Maybe it was the right thing to do. He really didn't want to keep anything from her ever again. He was just about to let her know when the clock stopped moving and became silent.

They looked at one another, neither one wanting to open the door.

"We should get out. Remember what happened the last time we refused to leave?" Draco said. He said a silent prayer that wherever they were, it was somewhere where they could rest... he needed a vacation! "Ready?" She nodded, her eyes wide with fear. He opened it and together they stepped out into the sunlight.

Sand was under their feet, and their backs faced the ocean. Palm trees surrounded tall buildings that could possibly be hotels of some kind. The clock disappeared from behind them with a swoosh of hot air just as a man walked down the beach, opened a lounge chair and propped an umbrella into the sand. Hermione watched as he took off his robe. She noticed he was wearing a swimsuit from the 1930's or 40's.

"Where do you think we are?" Draco asked, looking around at the pleasant surroundings. He had prayed for a vacation, and it certainly looked as if his prayers had been answered!

"I don't know where we are, Malfoy, but I do recognize that man over there." Hermione started forward towards the man, who was now reading a book. Draco ran to keep up with her.

Hermione stopped in front of the lounging man, casting a shadow over him. He looked up, a smile on his face, a bright twinkle in his blue eyes. "Hello, Professor Dumbledore," she said.

to be continued...